PICS: The international events that marked 2018

From a spy drama that poisoned ties between Russia and the West to major US turnarounds under President Donald Trump, here are some of the major events that marked 2018.

A meticulous clean-up has now begun in Salisbury after the poisoning of a former Russian spy. Emergency services workers, seen here in March, have sometimes had to wear protective clothing and breathing equipment

Russian spy poisoning saga

On March 4, Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his adult daughter are discovered unconscious and poisoned on a bench in Salisbury, England.

London points the finger at Moscow and in September issues arrest warrants for two Russian operatives for attempting to kill the Skripals. Moscow rejects all charges.

Angry exchanges between the two capitals bring in other Western nations behind London. Eventually dozens of Western and Russian diplomats are expelled in tit-for-tat reprisals, and new sanctions are brought against Russia.

The Skripals survive but in June a British woman dies after coming into contact with Novichok in a village outside Salisbury. Her partner falls gravely ill.

A Syrian boy receive treatment at a hospital in the regime controlled Aleppo on November 24, 2018. – Official Syrian media accused the armed opposition of launching an attack with “toxic gas” on the northern city, but a leading rebel alliance has denied any involvement. (Photo by George OURFALIAN / AFP)

Syria regime victories

On April 14, the Syrian army declares that all anti-regime forces have been forced out of the Eastern Ghouta area adjoining Damascus after a blistering two-month offensive that leaves more than 1,700 people dead.

It is a major victory in the government’s effort to reassert control after the 2011 uprising that pulled the entire country into a devastating conflict.

The same day the United States, Britain and France carry out pre-dawn strikes against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in response to a suspected chemical attack on the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma that killed scores of civilians. The regime denies the allegations.

Backed by Russia’s military might, Assad’s forces go on to notch up a series of victories against rebels and insurgents, to be back in countrol of two-thirds of the ruined and divided country.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to press forward with President Donald Trump’s push to isolate Iran, boasting of imposing “some of the harshest sanctions in history”. AFP/File/Jim WATSON

Trump quits Iran nuclear deal

On May 8, President Donald Trump pulls the United States out of the hard-won 2015 accord that limits Iran’s nuclear weapons programme in exchange for an easing of sanctions against the Islamic republic.

The “one-sided deal” does not go far enough in preventing Iran from creating a nuclear bomb, Trump says, among other criticisms.

The remaining parties to the accord – Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – insist Iran has abided by its commitments and vow to keep the deal intact.

In August Washington reimposes a first wave of sanctions on Iran; in November there is a second.

Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel east of Gaza City on May 14, 2018, as Palestinians protest over the inauguration of the US embassy following its controversial move to Jerusalem. AFP PHOTO / Thomas COEX

US moves embassy to Jerusalem

On May 14, the United States opens its new embassy in Jerusalem, infuriating the Palestinians – who also claim the holy city as their capital – and flouting years of international policy.

Clashes erupt on the border with Israel and the Palestinian territory of Gaza: after the bloodiest day in the dragging conflict in years, around 60 Palestinians are dead, killed by Israeli gunfire.

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini gestures during a press conference following a Cabinet meeting on the country’s draft budget, prior to its submission deadline to the European Commission on October 15, 2018 at Palazzo Chigi in Rome. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

Populists take charge in Italy

On June 1, a populist coalition government takes power in Italy formed by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and far-right anti-migrant eurosceptics.

New Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam League, introduces a hardline policy that sees Italy largely closing its borders to migrants.

Anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe had already been boosted in April when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lead his party to a crushing victory at legislative elections.

US President Donald Trump (R) and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un shake hands following a signing ceremony during their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018. Picture: AFP PHOTO

Trump, Kim meet-up

On June 12, Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Singapore in the first-ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries.

They sign an agreement which reaffirms Pyongyang’s commitment to the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”.

But so far North Korea has taken few concrete steps to abandon its nuclear weapons, and the two sides have sparred over the meaning of the vaguely worded agreement.

The devastating conflict in Yemen has left 10,000 people dead since March 2015. AFP/File/Mohammed HUWAIS

Yemen war reaches aid port

On June 13, the war in Yemen steps up a notch when pro-government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, launch an assault to wrest back control of the vital aid port of Hodeida from Huthi rebels, backed by Iran.

The war, which started in 2014, has already killed about 10,000 people with 20 million at risk of starvation, according aid agencies.

The two sides meet for UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden in early December.

Carlos Ghosn signed documents tasking a small number of his executive assistants to arrange this division of his salary. (AFP pic)

Eritrea, Ethiopia find peace

On July 9, Horn of Africa neighbours Eritrea and Ethiopia announce the end of their two-decade war and embark on a whirlwind peace process that sees embassies and borders reopened, telephone and flight links reestablished, trade ties resumed.

It comes after Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, announces in June that his government would drop claims to a disputed border territory.

The accord leads Somalia and Eritrea to also re-establish diplomatic links on July 30, after a long period of hostility. The United Nations lifts sanctions on Eritrea on November 14.

Rescue personnel walk in a cave at the Tham Luang cave complex during a mission to evacuate the remaining members of a soccer team trapped inside, in Chiang Rai, Thailand July 9, 2018, in this photo obtained from social media. Twitter @elonmusk/via REUTERS

Thai cave boys

There is a global sigh of relief on July 10 when the last of 12 young football players and their coach are extracted safe and sound from a flooded cave in northern Thailand where they had become trapped 17 days earlier.

The fate of the junior football team had captured world attention, with US and British diving experts joining the rescue effort and former Thai navy diver losing his life.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 9, 2018, a firefighter is silhouetted by a burning home along Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) during the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California.  (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

Heat and fire

In July-August Europe swelters in a heatwave which approaches the continent’s record 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 Fahrenheit), as deadly forest fires rage in Greece, Portugal and Spain.

In November, California is ravaged by its deadliest fire ever, with 85 people dying before it comes under control after two weeks.

The UN’s World Meteorological Organization announces in November that 2018 is set to be the fourth hottest year on record.

South Africa faces a diplomatic conundrum over the death of a Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi under suspicious circumstances at the kingdom’s consular offices in Turkey. Image: Twitter/@cnnbrk

Saudi journalist murdered

On October 2, dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a contributor to The Washington Post, enters his country’s consulate in Istanbul and is never seen again.

After more than two weeks of denials and contradictory statements, Riyadh admits that he had been killed inside the consulate after a brawl.

It fires various officials and arrests others, also acknowledging the journalist’s body had been dismembered.

The murder tarnishes the kingdom’s image and notably that of its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, amid questions over whether he had ordered the killing, which the country vehemently denies.

Brazilian far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (L) speaks with Robson Gracie (R), son of the founder of the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school, which was later turned into “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,” during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 25, 2018. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)

Brazil veers right

On October 28, Latin America’s biggest country swerves to the right in an election that sees former army captain Jair Bolsonaro elected as Brazil’s new president.

During a particularly virulent campaign animated by hate speeches and peppered with outbreaks of violence, Bolsonaro is stabbed in the belly at a rally in September.

SMYRNA, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 05: Supporters applaud as they listen to Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) during a campaign stop at Steak n’ Shake November 5, 2018 in Smyrna, Tennessee. Rep. Blackburn continued to campaign, one day before the midterm election, for her run for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP

Midterm boost US Democrats

Midterm elections on November 6 see the Democrats win control of the House of Representatives while the Republicans bolster their majority in the Senate.

The last days of campaigning are rocked by the worst anti-Semitic attack in US history, when a gunman kills 11 people in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, and the mailing of pipe bombs to high-profile Democrats including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

An approaching caravan of thousands of Central Americans also draws headlines away from the campaign, the migrants arriving at the heavily patrolled Mexico-US border from mid-November.

A demonstrator walks past a fire during a protest of Yellow Vests (Gilets jaunes) against rising oil prices and living costs on the Champs Elysees, in Paris, on December 1, 2018. Picture: Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP

France’s ‘yellow vest’ uprising

On November 17, protests flare across France in opposition to rising fuel taxes and living costs, later swelling into a broad movement against the policies of the government of President Emmanuel Macron.

The “yellow vest” protests, named after the flourescent safety jackets worn by demonstrators, come to a head with rioting and looting in Paris.

After the government backs down on the planned fuel tax, Macron on December 10 outlines other measures to calm the anger, including a boost to the minimum wage.

In this picture taken on June 26, 2018, Nissan Motors CEO Hiroto Saikawa (L) and Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn (R) attend the 119th ordinary general meeting of shareholders in Yokohama. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT

The fall of Carlos Ghosn

On November 19, the head of the giant Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi auto alliance, tycoon Carlos Ghosn, is arrested in Japan over allegations of under-reporting his salary for years, which he denies.

He is fired as chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi and formally charged on December 10, when his detention is extended.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May addresses media representatives after Brexit talks at EU Headquarters in Brussels on November 24, 2018. – Britain’s Prime Minister on November 24 has met the EU Commission president, head of the bloc’s executive, and the EU Council president, whose institution represents the member states. European diplomats told AFP no more substantive negotiations are planned for this weekend and it was hoped the summit on November 25 would simply see leaders sign off on the fruit of 17 months of dialogue. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)

Brexit deal

On November 25, after 17 months of negotiations, the European Union and Britain agree on an accord covering Britain’s exit from the bloc by March 2019.

But British Prime Minister Theresa May on December 10 postpones a parliament vote on the deal set for the following day, acknowledging it would be rejected. She survives an internal party no-confidence vote on December 12.

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